Surely almost everyone can now afford to buy a mobile phone. Even kids who are still attending elementary school can already tinker with their phone’s keypad and explore its several functions. Still, the thought of discovering a phone that both functions well and costs incredulously low is something that doesn’t really happen very often. When it does, it’s bound to create mixed reactions between those who feel amused and those who feel betrayed.
If you’re from Shenzhen, China or at least planning to make it as your next travel destination, don’t forget to include the Mingtong Digital Mall in your itinerary. Reports are saying that inside the mall, you could find a mobile phone that has the ridiculous price of just 12 dollars. Though the price can be surprising, the phone’s features prove to be surprising as well. For 12 dollars, the phone gives you Bluetooth connectivity, an OLED display, a quad-band GSM, and an MP3 player.
Those who are intrigued by the phone’s cheap price had decided to scrutinize it further by tearing it down. It doesn’t matter if they forget how to assemble it again anyway as they can just easily replace it with another $ 12 worth of mobile phone. The first thing that they found out is the absence of screws. For the case to be closed, they just needed to be snapped together.
Next, the phone doesn’t have any connectors inside. Everything else is soldered directly to the phone’s board. For purposes of shipping and storage, you would just have to flip a switch in order to disconnect the battery. Moreover, you would notice that there is no secondary protection circuit surrounding the battery.
Bluetooth function is provided by the antenna which looked like a small length of wire. Other features include 32-bit 260 MHz processor, RAM of 8MB, dual-color OLED, a keypad with backlights, an edge embedded with decorative lights and two major ICs such as Vanchip VC5276 and Mediatek MT6250DA.
The latter is rumored to be selling in volume for the price of less than $ 2. The 12-dollar cellphone is totally unbranded, unlocked, and not tied to any services, carriers, or stores. Hit the comments below if you intend to get one given the opportunity.
(via)
